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And what happens when there is no electricity, like in many developing countries? Will those people simply not have access to books that were only published electronically?
Years ago people were proposing the paperless office, but in my experience quite a lot of people tend to print out PDF files etc. Basically only the location of the printing has been decentralized.
A digital file is significantly different than a library. At the very least the they being compensated for each book. Plus if the book is in demand many might head to the book store instead of wait. One single file release and technically the author could never see another dime.
Reading is fine, its not against the law... by the way, you can head to a bookstore and read the whole book without paying for it... So far, writers haven't gone out of business... like I said before, people were afraid of the same thing with public libraries but it was all for nothing... it never happened... I am willing to concede that authors will lose SOME profit but I also point out that books as a medium will NOT persist... its time to move on... library books are a dying technology much like cassette tapes... we have mp3s now which are largely downloaded illegally... I still haven't seen singers going out of business... it won't happen... the scare has been proven wrong time and time again...
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Really besides the point as this court case is about giving Google a monopoly on many of these works.
Giving a monopoly? Huh? How does it give a monopoly when Google is not the only one who can do it? They can do it much better and that is how capitalism works... Not doing it is how corporatism works...
It doesn't give them "exclusive" rights and the plantiffs are totally using semantics...
If no one claims the books Google takes the profit, no one else will be allowed to do what they are doing which is the crux of the issue or where the "exclusive" comes in.
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the whole copyright and patent system is flawed
To some extent I'd agree, copyrights last far too long and some patents can be absurdly simple.
And what happens when there is no electricity, like in many developing countries? Will those people simply not have access to books that were only published electronically?
Years ago people were proposing the paperless office, but in my experience quite a lot of people tend to print out PDF files etc. Basically only the location of the printing has been decentralized.
Huh? Are you serious? Countries with no electricity? You do realize that every country matures technologically... right? Just like when Americans didn't have electricity then, we have it now... It takes time for these countries to develop and they will have electricity... then they will have cars... then they will have cellular phones... I am not outlawing books to be published because they certainly can be published... I am talking about a library... so I don't know why you are talking about book sales which has nothing to do with what I am talking about...
If no one claims the books Google takes the profit, no one else will be allowed to do what they are doing which is the crux of the issue or where the "exclusive" comes in.
Where in the provision does it say "no one else will be allowed"... its nowhere... it was completely invented by the corporatists... there is no provision that says anyone will be disallowed (is that a word?)...
The department said that presently, the settlement would give Google sole authority over so-called "orphan works" -- books whose copyright holder cannot be found -- and books by foreign rightsholders.
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"In the view of the Department, the Proposed Settlement raises two serious issues," it said. "First, through collective action, the Proposed Settlement appears to give book publishers the power to restrict price competition.
"Second, as a result of the Proposed Settlement, other digital distributors may be effectively precluded from competing with Google in the sale of digital library products and other derivative products to come," it said.
The Justice Department's opinion comes a week after the head of the US Copyright Office argued that the book deal violates "fundamental copyright principles."
Marybeth Peters, the US Register of Copyrights, said the settlement "absolves Google of the need to search for the rights holders or obtain their prior consent and provides a complete release from liability.
"It could affect the exclusive rights of millions of copyright owners, in the United States and abroad, with respect to their abilities to control new products and new markets, for years and years to come," she said.
The public library has been labeled as dead for years, yet librarians are busier than ever. We are helping the unemployed with resumes, job applications and setting up email accounts.
High schools hand out homework with no thought that half their students can't afford computers or Internet access. We can't keep up with the demand for computer usage in our library. And while Google is great for initial research, most people don't know how to properly use it. A good reference librarian can help focus or create a better search.
Our circulation figures go up every year as do patrons walking through the door. Corporations aren't killing us.
This is the problem with the courts and our government... CORPORATISM... they are siding with corporate entities for the sake of profit... A library is a library... whether it is online or in a building.... Google is asking "absolves Google of the need to search for the rights holders or obtain their prior consent and provides a complete release from liability" and if you read carefully, it does NOT say to give them rights which is what the courts INTENTIONALLY misinterpreted... Google is NOT selling the books, it is archiving for access like a library... The courts are intentionally favoring corporatism... their excuse is that "It COULD affect... rights... of copyright owners... to control new products and new markets..." What does that mean "to control"... which is complete BS... do you understand what they are trying to say? Cause I have no idea how google making a digital library would bar you from "controlling new products".... huh? The courts have been taken over by corporatism... this is simply, WRONG...
The public library has been labeled as dead for years, yet librarians are busier than ever. We are helping the unemployed with resumes, job applications and setting up email accounts.
I didn't say libraries were dead... I am saying that libraries are obselete with a centralized digital library... If you are helping with resume, applications, and email accounts, then I suggest they expand the unemployment office instead of making libraries serve in that capacity...
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High schools hand out homework with no thought that half their students can't afford computers or Internet access. We can't keep up with the demand for computer usage in our library. And while Google is great for initial research, most people don't know how to properly use it. A good reference librarian can help focus or create a better search.
Our circulation figures go up every year as do patrons walking through the door. Corporations aren't killing us.
I have been to many public libraries... and most of the people there aren't kids surfing onto the computers for school-related things... most of them are poor adults who are looking for free internet access for whatever they want... I am not saying that a librarian is not necessary and they play an important role and I wouldn't mind have a "live librarian" on the google website who could recommend or suggest certain books or topics via online chat... I am not talking about closing public libraries right now but I do see with the expansion of a digital library and EVENTUAL nationwide internet service, the walk-in library will eventually wane... So let me make it clear, public libraries will still operate but it will eventually be replaced by a digital library as cassettes have been replaced by MP3s... a gradual replacement... new things are always harder to grasp, especially if you are older... lots of older adults don't like computers cause they aren't used to it... computers are more of the rule than the exception now and it is the eventually that your patrons get accustomed to a digital library... It is how libraries will evolve... I understand the fight against the evolution of the library but you are only helping the corporatists who see it as their "waterloo" to reap as much profit as they can... Do you remember when these same corporatists said the public library would cause authors to stop writing?
I happen to live in a rural area. We sometimes lose the electricity. Last night at midnight the power went out, we got it back at 7:30 A.M. I like to read, particularly in the winter. I sure would miss having good old books.
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